My trusty Microsoft/Razer Habu mouse finally kicked the bucket after about 6 or so years of service. I picked up a Razer DeathAdder on sale for about $35, plugged it in, went to the Razer site to look for drivers and "all I got was this lousy Synapse 2.0 program".

Razer has this thing called "Synapse 2.0" which apparently has been around for almost a year.. I've been out of the loop. Basically, Razer has moved their driver config files to a cloud service. The upshot is that if you want access to the driver config files (your sensitivity adjustments/profiles, macros, button assignment, etc) YOU HAVE TO SIGN IN WITH A USERNAME AND PASSWORD!! Are you kidding me Razer?

The rationale is that this service allows you to take your keyboard/mouse with you and use them on any computer and have your profiles available via cloud. Sounds good in theory. But who actually uses this? Who actually takes keyboards and mouses with them to game on multiple systems? The upshot is that you need to log into the cloud service every time your computer starts or else all you get is a "dumb" input device.

It's like Steam or Origin for your mouse! I will ask again: Are you kidding me?

Update: Thanks to responses to this thread, it has become apparent that Razer does keep archived drivers that are business as usual, AT LEAST FOR SOME DEVICES, though they don't make them easy to locate on their website. For example, for Deathadder drivers, navigate to them by: Click on Support -> Drivers software, manuals -> Razer mouse products (ignore synapse download options above) -> Deathadder(s) -> Specific type ->Drivers (again, ignore Synapse download options) -> Archive.

Unfortunately, it looks like Razer is committed to this new cloud model going forward as their most recently updated drivers are only available in Synapse form, so those with razer devices may soon be stuck with this nonsense that is cloud drivers. Hope I am wrong.

Note: While there are archived drivers for the Deathadder on Razer's site, I could not find any for other devices: The Naga mouse for example. Looks like if you have a Naga, you may be stuck with synapse. Same goes for the Blackwidow range of keyboards (though I admit having a driver for a keyboard is less of a necessity).

Last edited by cynan on Fri Sep 21, 2012 12:29 pm, edited 8 times in total.

It should be noted that you don't HAVE TO log in to USE the device. You can use whatever controls your OS provides just fine. I have a DeathAdder as well. I don't use any mouse software. The forward/back buttons work just fine. Middle button click does fast scrolling. Everything works great for what I do with the mouse.

I recognize I probably use this "gaming mouse" different than a lot of people that buy it. I like its ergonomics and using it without those ridiculous drivers and software works fine for me.

e: I don't know if you edited your OP or I just didn't see it at first, but you mentioned what I just stated here.

But as far as I could tell, you don't even get any sensitivity adjustments without Synapse. Therefore if you're not happy with the default low DPI or polling rate for navigating Windows (as in my case) and want to have the benefits of a higher sensitivity device - which is presumably a big part of the reason why you spent the money on a gaming mouse - then you are SOL without Synapse.

If you don't want to bother with these features, then why not just buy a $20 mouse in the first place?

cynan wrote:But as far as I could tell, you don't even get any sensitivity adjustments without Synapse. Therefore if you're not happy with the default low DPI or polling rate for navigating Windows (as in my case) and want to have the benefits of a higher sensitivity device - which is presumably a big part of the reason why you spent the money on a gaming mouse - then you are SOL without Synapse.

If you don't want to bother with these features, then why not just buy a $20 mouse in the first place?

Edit: Original post was edited for grammar only.

You can change the speed that your pointer moves in Windows and your polling rate in the registry. I think, without knowing for sure, those two equate to your DPI and polling rate in the Razer software solution. Why not give that a try and see if it feels good for you?

I got the mouse pretty cheap, and like I said previously I really like the ergonomics. I'm willing to spend 40 bucks on a mouse that I really like instead of 20 on something that isn't as comfortable and usable for me.

DancinJack wrote:I got the mouse pretty cheap, and like I said previously I really like the ergonomics. I'm willing to spend 40 bucks on a mouse that I really like instead of 20 on something that isn't as comfortable and usable for me.

I didn't mean to undermine your rationale for getting the mouse. I somewhat agree. But the point is that who ON EARTH thought making you sign in to get full use of your device was a good idea?

And when I said it's like Steam for your mouse - I take it back. It's WORSE. At least with steam you can get access to your saved games and configuration settings when you are offline as they are stored locally. (While I haven't actually tried logging in offline with the Razer Synapse, I assume that you can't). Why couldn't Razer both store them locally and on the cloud? Is it for security so others don't steal your super secret sauce pownerific gaming profiles?!

Not just that either, the latest version forces the Synapse window to pop up on every startup/logon. I was going to leave this Naga for its ergonomics anyway, but altogether I'll make sure to not pick a Razer mouse again because of the software. And I who thought I've had to toil with Logitech's SetPoint in the past. I had it easy back then.

Switch to logitech. I've always felt razer products were overrated, and there are a lot of negative reviews. Logitech isn't without issues, but the 518 and G500 are solid products. Setpoint isn't bad software either, as the autorun can be disabled and it's not a required install. DPI can be adjusted solely with the dedicated dpi buttons.

DancinJack wrote:I completely understand what you're saying. I just think you should try alternate solutions to try and steer clear of that awful software.

While that may be good advice now that I'm stuck with it - I think the expectation to hunt for alternative means of configuring higher end input devices is at least a bit laughable. (And I'm not certain that the Windows mouse adjustments actually changes DPI. But to be honest I'm not really certain what changing DPI in the Razer driver does. It would make more sense to me if the Windows configuration tools were limited to polling rate. Changing DPI - supposedly the resolution at which the optical sensor operates - should require a driver specific to the device, no? Most generic mouses - that don't come with drivers - would only have one DPI setting...)

I think I'll hang on to this until Corsair comes out with updates to their first forays into gaming mouses (M60 and M90). They're promising, but still working out the kinks. Then there are companies like Saitek and Mionix that seem to be making some excelling gaming mouses these days. No longer are we limited to Microsoft, Logitech or Razer. To be honest, I've not given Logitech a proper look in good while and two people here have already recommended them..

Logitech is pretty good with certain models. The 518 was a masterpiece, which has been replaced by the G400. The G500 is their next gen laser mouse with the 518 body style, and I love the hyperscroll wheel feature. I don't know if the G9x is any good, but it has high reviews. If you're looking for something cheap, Rosewill has a logitech clone for 8$ & free shipping, but the reviews are pretty bad. Dunno if anyone knows much about A4tech, but they appear to be a decent off brand that mimics both logitech and razer, while offering a few unique features like mouse lift detection.

Well well. Thanks for pointing this out! Looks like Razer still offers older standard drivers for most of its current products after all. I guess this makes my post at least somewhat alarmist. Though they sure don't make it easy for you to navigate to on their website. The fact they they are not offering their new drivers as stand-alone downloads and that the archived ones are somewhat hidden away does not bode well for their plans for future drivers: Looks like they've adopted the cloud driver model in full force - which in my opinion is still post worthy and not in a positive way.

I've installed the archived Deathadder driver and I have to say that, at least for the DPI adjustment, the Synapse driver is much better as it lets you change the DPI incrementally. With the Synapse driver, I'd settled on a DPI of 2800. With the archived driver you have a choice of 450, 900, 1800 and 3500. That's it. However, the older driver also has a sensitivity setting that is independent of DPI or Polling rate that I don't remember encountering in the Synapse driver. Maybe Synapse has just combined DPI and sensitivity together?

I think as an owner of a Razer product, you owe it to yourself and everyone else to submit this feedback to them. Potential buyers expressing that they will not consider the product because of this should, too. It sounds truly awful.

Was just about to post the same thing. It's stupid that they made it difficult to find their drivers though. I've got 2 Razer Deathadders myself (3500 and a black edition one) and would've been very pissed if they just flat out changed it to Synapse. Good thing I save a copy of all my drivers on my server in case of corporate douche-baggery.

Also, OP, if you can change your thread title you might want to. Or at least put this information in the OP in case others come across this thread and can't find a solution.

Also, while there are older archived drivers available for some Razer devices on their website (ie, Deathadder), they are missing for others (ie, Naga, Blackwidow). I have not gone through and checked all.

Razer are one of these companies that I really don't like for a whole bunch of different reasons. They went from being a decent enthusiast-serving company with great products to a <deleted for profanity reasons>.

They do still make some good products, but they're of lower build quality and higher purchase cost than they used to be, all whilst making the user experience in terms of software and support t thing that people have to work around rather than work with.

Some people ask me why I have always enclosed my signature in spoiler tags; There is a good reason for that, but I can't elaborate without giving away the plot twist.